Wild Card
by Jalyss
Summary: She'd learn how to deal with it for she had little other choice. [SasuHina] MedievalMagic!AU
1. I

_Another SasuHina story. Not sure how long this will be...  
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_This is set in some sort of medieval timeframe with the inclusion of magic, and__ was inspired by the multitude of books I've been reading plus cards. Cards are awesome.__  
><em>_Ranking - Ace is the highest, then K-2. There is only one Ace. King and Queen are the same rank, just differentiating gender.__  
><em>_Kougou - empress, Tennou - emperor (according to internet as all the Japanese I know is from anime). Please correct me if I'm wrong._

Note: Aryin is a word I made up.

_Looking for a casual beta-reader for this story (and possibly other SasuHina works). Please PM me if you are interested.  
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_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or Neji would for sure still be alive D:  
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><p><em>"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." - Randy Pausch<em>

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><p>She pushed her midnight locks behind her shoulder as her eyes skimmed the delicate black script on the aged parchment that sat on the mahogany desk in front of her. Upon finishing the chapter, she closed the book carefully. It was one of the few copies in the library in the city and she wouldn't be able to afford it should she damage it by accident. She closed her lavender orbs momentarily, letting out a resigned sigh; she would have to venture out of the mage quarters and onto the common streets. Her poor lack of hindsight meant that she had run out of <em>aryin<em> stones to capture magical energy in. Hinata retrieved her coin pouch and fastened it to her belt. She then headed out of her room, closing the door quietly behind her. Other mages were studying and she didn't want to disturb any of them.

She continued down the hall, greeting other mages appropriately, in accordance to their rank. Elegant tapestries of varying colours hung from the marbled walls of the corridors, depicting past rulers and legends in their deeds of triumph. _A subtle manipulation_, she thought. _Of course they never show the other, less-than-noble deeds… I wonder…_

"Hinata-san, there you are," a distinct female voice called out to her from behind.

She quickly turned to face an older, blue-haired female. "Konan-sama," she demurred, bowing politely as someone of her rank should. Nobility and lineage did not mean much in the Clover Faction of the mages, ability did.

The elder female nodded in acknowledgement. "Nagato-sama wanted me to give you this." She smiled not unkindly as she held out a scroll of parchment bound with a purple ribbon.

"Ah, thank you," Hinata replied quickly as she took the scroll from the Queen's outstretched hand.

"Best wishes, Seven-san." Her pale orange eyes watched Hinata carefully.

She bowed politely, thanking the older woman once again and headed back to her room to read the missive, hoping it wasn't bad news. Fortunately, it only contained the Ace's opinions on her most recent report on the uses of _aryin_ on extended healing of mild maladies. It did give her a lot to think about as he had some suggestions at what she could attempt next. Imbuing healing energies into _aryin_ was incredibly difficult, and so far there was minimal success, except in improving the mood of patients and minimal numbing of pain. She'd patterned the magical energy in many types of already used magical circles, but the Ace had suggested distorting those to sided shapes, such as octagons or decagons as the ice-blue mineral was an ordered structure… She would try that when she managed to get more _aryin_. It was fairly difficult to try and re-spell those stones with different magic purpose and she would have to send them in to the erasing sector of the Clovers (since it was a tricky and tedious process). While she waited (the process took a couple of weeks), she would have to use new stones. She set the scroll down next to the book she had read earlier on.

The lavender-eyed mage pondered her superior's suggestion as she exited the old building. It _would_ make sense, and it was something that none of the other mages had attempted as the ones that were also working on _aryin_ and healing magic were using upper level magical incantations.

She walked by some of the street stalls, casually greeting the vendors. Although they had smiles on their faces, it wasn't too hard to see the faint underlying fear in their eyes upon seeing her shimmering periwinkle tunic, and the fear only grew more pronounced upon catching sight of her pale lavender eyes. The Hyuuga were known to be very formidable mages that were also well versed in physical combat, their own unique style. At least every time she headed out to the streets now, the fear in the citizens' eyes was less due to her focus on healing magic (it was difficult to be afraid of a healer, although who was to say she couldn't do battle magic if need be?). Her aptitude, and preference, for healing magic meant that she only ranked a Seven. Her older cousin, who more or less concentrated on the destructive battle magic and was highly proficient in the Hyuuga style of physical combat, was ranked a Ten. Hanabi, her younger sister, was already ranked a Seven due to her talent for battle magic. The fact that her sister was ranked the same as her (and was her junior by 5 years) was a point of embarrassment for her father, thus most of the time she would avoid being in his company for extended periods of time (as much as it saddened her). Majority of the Hyuuga that entered the Clover Faction held positions of Nine and above by the time they were eighteen, a feat she had not accomplished (in which she was a few weeks late anyway).

Clouds were scattered across the blue sky, providing some relief from the heat of the sun at this time of month. She looked up, disappointed to see white rather than the greys that would promise rain. It had been a hot couple of weeks and she was hoping the temperature would fall. She crossed the streets, attempting to remain in the shade provided by the stalls. Some items caught her interest, and she stopped shortly to inspect them, though none of them were actually magical in nature (those items were sold through licensed trading houses). She debated whether or not to purchase a small ivory comb for her sister as Hanabi had lost hers a couple of days ago, then decided she might as well. It was a pretty thing, for 3 coppers.

She took her time walking the cobbled streets since it was a nice break from her attempts with the pale stones. The Aburame trading house was located in the heart of the marketplace. Its white wooden walls and ebony tiled roof stood out amongst the drab browns and greys of the surrounding shops. A large wooden sign with 'Aburame House' in fanciful script and their signature logo of a rare type of beetle was engraved hung from the rafters. Her childhood friend, Shino, was a part of the merchant house. The Aburame's were a family friend of the Hyuuga and they supplied much of the magical items required for spell casting. Hinata entered the well-maintained building, sighing quietly as she did so. It was a lot cooler indoors, and the Aburame family made sure to keep the venue ventilated as appropriate.

The pale-eyed female greeted the stout woman at the front counter before she requested to meet with Aburame Shibi. She smiled amiably upon seeing the dark-haired head of the trader house, bowing politely as protocol dictated. The exchange of pleasantries was brief, and she soon got down to business. "Aburame-sama, I don't suppose you would have a few dozen _aryin_ I could purchase? I have unfortunately run out and cannot continue my work until I get new ones."

He pushed his sunglasses up with his index finger. "I'm afraid not, Hinata-san. Our supplier is running late with the delivery due to the increasing uneasiness of Fire country relations with Rice. Come back in a couple of days and I'll let you know if there are any updates. If there is a shipment by then, I will set the order aside for you."

"That would be most appreciated." She paused a moment, figuring Shibi would have some information on the matter. "What do you know of the rising tension?"

"From what I've heard, tennou-sama's demands are borderline insulting and he and his court do not seem to be willing to negotiate with us. Kougou-sama continues to try and compromise, but that only makes them more aggressive. She has gone through six advisors already in attempts to reach some sort of agreement. In the background, however, she is rallying the army and amassing supplies as well as fortifying the country's defences. The Hearts have increased their training regimen in preparation for a war, and there is talk of sending more companies to the outposts along the border of Fire and Rice as a precautionary measure." He shook his head. "Things don't appear to be improving in the least."

Hinata maintained a neutral mask and nodded. "Thank you for the information. I hadn't realised things were as such."

"It's not a problem. Now, if you excuse me, I have a meeting with the Uchiha house that I need to get to. I will give your regards to my son."

"Thank you very much. Good bye, Aburame-sama." The bluenette exited the building, returning to the hot streets. She was glad that her tunic was made of a light cloth that wasn't too hot in the sun and was instead rather cooling, though she supposed there may have been a few spells woven into the cloth that moderated the temperature around the wearer.

Instead of heading back to the mage quarters, she decided to pay a visit to a couple of her friends at the Hearts faction. Since Shibi had told her that the army was preparing for war, she might as well go see to what extent the Hearts were going to. Then, the least she could do at the moment was to strengthen the energy and healing spells on the _aryin_ that she had given to her friends. The healing spells would only lessen the feeling of pain, unfortunately. She wished she could do more. If there was actually war, the research she had been carrying out for the past couple of years would be useful, _if only she could get a breakthrough_. The _aryin_ was the only type of stone known that could hold magic energy, and even then the variation between stones was great.

It was an even longer walk to the castle, and only a couple of hours later did she make it to the gates. She walked over to the guard and lifted the sleeve of her tunic to reveal 7 royal purple clubs and a VII marked on the skin of her right shoulder. "Hyuuga Hinata, Clover Seven. I have business with Heart Seven, Inuzuka Kiba-san."

The guard glanced at her shoulder and then summoned a runner to take her to Kiba. The blond runner led her through the pristine halls, going through long corridors. The Hearts faction was huge, taking up a fair few acres of land. It was at least 10 times as big as the mage complex due to the amount of space required for the army to train and house, as well as stable and exercise the horses.

The Hyuuga female was brought to one of the training fields, the runner telling her that squad 7C-2 was undergoing training at present, but would finish in half an hour. She agreed to wait until they were done, and the blond headed off having other work to do.

She sat on one of the benches under a wooden shelter nearby and scanned the crowd for any signs of her friend. Kiba should be amongst the soldiers, somewhere… ah! The distinctive red triangle markings on his face were easy to spot through the greens of the uniforms. He was very good at what he did, and watching him run through the drills brought a small frown to her face. The possible war… her friends… She took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts out of her mind. It would do her no good to think of such things at the moment since nothing was gained in coming up with imaginary scenarios that may or may not come to pass. She would deal with the present, the precautions she could take to hopefully help others. She waved to Kiba when he looked over and received a similar gesture in reply.

She spent the next half hour watching her childhood friend practice, her thoughts running a mile a minute about the various healing magics she could remember and about the possible ways of altering the circles into sided shapes. That would require a lot of work to see if the redone shape could even produce the same result, or even a result at all. Apart from the general shape, some of the markings and other designs inside the original circle may have to be altered as well. She sighed. That would be a lot of work, a lot of it trial and error. Circles _always_ worked in magical spells that were designed for an extended period of time. Other shapes… well their effects varied considerably. While she waited for the _aryin_ to come in, she supposed she could sketch a few designs to try out, and possibly run them by some of her colleagues to see their ideas.

"Hinata-chan!" Kiba called out as he ran over to her when the training session was complete. "It's nice to see you again! What brings you here?" He rested his elbows on the wooden wall in front of her, head in hands as he peered down at her with a grin. The greens flapped in the wind, and the 7 red hearts with a VII stitched in were evident on the front of his uniform on the left breast pocket. "Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything," he added on, hurriedly.

A faint smile of amusement touched her lips briefly while she waved off his last comment. "I understand, Kiba-kun. No, I had some time off and came to visit you guys. That and, well…" She trailed off, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, well, everyone will be glad to see you. I'm on break now so I can bring you to where they are?" He nodded slightly. "We can talk on the way."

She rose from her seat, nodding in acquiescence. It would be best if they could talk to each other with a decreased possibility of anyone overhearing. Kiba would be sure to walk her around the places with less people.

As they made their way around the large facility, she spoke again. "I've heard that the castle is preparing for war and that the Heart faction is expecting that possibility…?" She looked over at him.

The brunette blinked. "Well, yeah… Apparently negotiations aren't going very well, and kougou-sama wants to make sure we're all prepared, just in case. Though…" He frowned. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Hina-chan, but things aren't looking too good. There have been rumours that kougou-sama is considering not only asking the Diamond Faction, but also both the Clover and Spade faction for assistance should things take a turn for the worse." The pair turned the corner and waved to one of the knights that passed by.

She stared at him in surprise, only speaking when there was no-one in the vicinity once more. "But… Kougou-sama isn't… the leader has never… it is unheard of!" She paused, thinking about all the revelations that piece of information brought. None of them were good. "Are things… really that bad?" she whispered, her voice wavering slightly.

The Inuzuka glanced around warily before dropping his voice considerably, moving closer to her. "From what Jiraiya-sama is making us do and from the other rumours flying around here, yeah… Rice has at least three times the population of Fire. Also, some people from the court believe that he is underhanded enough to attack while negotiations continue, which is why we need to post more troops at the outposts along the border. Not only that, but some people say that tennou-sama has some sort of secret weapon in Oto, and possibly some sort of dark magic... We may need all the factions to band together in order to defend our country if things should come to that."

Hinata frowned. There were only about 70 mages in all of Konoha, around 10 of them coming from the Hyuuga family. While battle magic could certainly affect a wide area, there were only so many times such great magic could be cast. The Hearts faction was large, mainly due to the varying positions available, such as cavalry, footmen, archers, and so forth. That, and the fact it was run by the castle meant that many able-bodied people joined as the pay was fairly decent. The Spade and Diamond faction… well, the numbers were unknown as the members were kept a secret, and neither were looked upon favourably amongst the common people. The last time the 4 factions had banded together was when the capital, Konoha, was formed. After that, they had agreed not to interfere with each other and not to work together unless a situation so dire arose that it was necessary to do so.

The pair entered one of the buildings, and all conversation pertaining to the possibilities of war were discontinued. Most of the Hearts watched her warily, nervous that a mage was walking the halls. Hinata forced a pleasant expression. "I just want to see how everyone's been. Also, I'd like to strengthen the spells on all your _aryin_."

"Alight, I don't think that'll be a problem," Kiba replied easily as he ignored the stares. "Most of them should be in the dining hall since it's around lunch break anyway. Have you eaten, Hina-chan?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. I was planning to do so after I checked up on you guys."

"You could-"

The bluenette held up a hand before he could continue. "You and I both know that would not be a wise idea. It's fine. I had something to eat before venturing out."

He shrugged, knowing better than to argue with a Hyuuga. "If you say so. Guess you're not staying long then…?"

"No, unfortunately. I have a lot of work I need to do. Also… I should increase my visits to the training areas."

Kiba nodded in understanding. "Wish you could hang around for longer. Wish we could go visit you." He frowned at his last comment.

"I wish you could too, but rules are rules."

"Yeah… anyway…" He gestured to the double doors that the two had stopped in front of. "Dining hall's here." Kiba pushed open the door, his stomach grumbling as he did so. He sheepishly laughed. "Good timing, huh?"

Hinata briefly shot him a small smile and turned her gaze to the dining hall. Numerous rectangular tables were lined up with benches on either side, running parallel in order to squish as many Hearts in a table as possible. People were sitting, elbow-to-elbow, nudging each other in the sides as they ate. The whole place was loud, rowdy, and bursting with energy, and she didn't want to enter as it would kill the atmosphere.

It was one of the problems (or perks, as Hanabi would say) of being a Clover member. People tended to stare at you and were exceptionally wary of you if you entered an area that wasn't frequently visited by mages. And sometimes she thought it was even worse, especially since her distinctive eyes only caused the silence to lengthen.

"I'll wait out here? I rather not make everyone awkward… Make sure you grab something to eat too, Kiba-kun."

He nodded. "Will do. Be back in a couple of minutes." The male walked inside quickly.

She sighed, leaning against the wall as she did so. She watched the Hearts walk by her, making it a point to not smile at anyone (her father would admonish her if she did such a thing in public, especially in the presence of another faction). The poorly concealed, wary looks she received in return only made the guilty feeling inside her grow.

"Hinata-chan!"

She would recognise that voice anywhere. "Naruto-kun," she replied as she turned her attention to the group that had exited the dining hall. "TenTen-chan, Temari-chan, Kankurou-san, Lee-san. It's so good to see you all again." She inclined her head in greeting, letting slip a small smile (Naruto's enthusiasm was infectious).

"Hinata-chan! It's really good to see you! What are you doing here?" Tenten asked with a friendly smile. "Does Neji-kun know you're here?"

"No, it was more of an impromptu visit. I went out earlier to see if I could get any mage supplies and decided to stop by after. I wanted to see how you all were doing, as well as strengthen the spells on your _aryin_."

Kiba slung an arm over her shoulders while nodding as he finished off the bread roll in his free hand. "Yeah, she can't be here for long. Since the others are busy, we gotta grab theirs too."

"I can grab Shikamaru-kun's," TenTen replied with a wave of her hand.

Naruto grinned. "Chouji's doing drills in the third field. I can go get his."

"And I'll go get my brother's," Kankurou added. "He's probably in the library or something again. I dunno how he can spend so much time in there."

Hinata shot him an amused expression. "He must have much to review and study. I hope it won't be too much of an inconvenience."

"Naw, Gaara could use a short break, that workaholic." Temari shook her head, somewhat exasperated. "He's spending a lot more time in the library 'cause of the current situation and all. I don't think you'll be able to see him today, Hina-chan."

"I understand and it's perfectly alright."

The three then headed off, leaving Hinata with Kiba, Temari, and Lee. She engaged in small talk, acutely aware of the curiosity of other members of the Heart faction. The bluenette kept her voice low. Yes, she and her family were all well. No, she hadn't been able to gain much leeway in terms of healing and _aryin_. And, of _course_ she'd try and visit more when she wasn't too bogged down by all the work she had to do (while maybe dragging her half-reluctant cousin along). She also promised to give them all advanced notice before she decides to drop by. She was glad when the topic moved away from her and to her friends. It was good to know that all of them were well, and that Shikamaru had recently been promoted to rank 9. She would have to congratulate him when she saw him as it was a rather impressive feat for one so young.

While she was listening, she drew out a roll of parchment and a lead pencil from her tunic. She carefully sketched the circle she used on her friends' _aryin_ stones, adding a couple of lines in order to strengthen the spells.

Upon seeing her three friends return, she placed the parchment on the floor. "Put the stones in the circle."

When all the icy blue minerals were in the circle, she summoned her powers and worked them into the intricate designs of the circles on the paper, conveying that spell into the rocks. As it was a spell that she was proficient in, the whole process simply took a couple of minutes. She let out a sigh and picked up the stones, handing them back to her friends.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grinned as he pocketed his _aryin_. "You're always so hard-working! Good luck with everything! I gotta run though; Iruka-san wanted to see me about something. Sorry to cut this short!"

"Oh, it's no problem. Good bye, Naruto-kun, and good luck to you too," she replied with a small smile as she watched him bounce down the hallway. She turned her attention back to the others. "I should probably let you guys go for lunch, ne?"

Lee waved his hands in a negative gesture. "It's completely fine, Hinata-chan!"

Temari shot the exuberant male a look. "Ya know, we only have another twenty minutes before our drills?" She turned to look at the Clover. "Sorry, Hinata-chan, as much as we'd love your company for longer, duty calls."

"It's alright, guys. I should go eat too."

After all the long goodbyes and promises to meet up sometime, Hinata exited the building with mixed feelings. While it was good to know that her friends were doing well, it was disheartening to hear confirmation from Kiba about the Fire-Rice relations. Also, the revelation that all 4 factions may have to band together was… unpleasant. Such a suggestion would meet much criticism and doubt unless the empress herself had a convincing argument paired with evidence of the direness of the situation.

Even if the Oto army was 3 times as big as the Hearts faction, there were many tactics that could be employed, as previous leaders had done. Besides, the reputation of the Hearts faction was renowned. Many countries would think twice about attacking Fire country with such an army, let alone the possibility of having to fight not only the Royal Army, but the other 3 factions as well (whose deeds were also rather well known, and the added 'benefit' of stories growing more and more exaggerated as they were told further and further away from the place of origin should deter a good majority of other nations in engaging in a war with Fire).

_It won't come to that_, Hinata thought. _The other three won't get involved in the political games the countries are playing at._


	2. II

_So this story is not on priority now, since Counting Down is my utmost priority since that seems to be more popular. I'm swamped with work since research is a pain (and I am left to wonder why I decided to do honours). Anyway, this story for the moment will only be updated when I'm stuck on what to write for CD. Thus, I can't promise consistent updates._

_Thank you to Nafsi-chan, Butlikeewlawlz, and Faded Pink for reviewing! Also, thank you to those who alerted and favourited this story._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be crying over the presentation this Friday._

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><p>The wooden door creaked shut behind her as she exited the cool building reluctantly. Three days later and there was still no news on any shipments of the <em>aryin<em> she needed. Shibi had given her the address of another trading house to check, which she figured she may as well drop by and see if her luck was any better there. She'd already modified several circles into new designs and needed the _aryin_ in order to test them out.

Repressing a sigh, she walked down the cobbled walkway towards the harbour. It was a lovely day, and the closer she got to the harbour, the more the scent of the sea drifted over her. She did love the smell.

Hinata had never discussed business with the Uchiha trading house as the Aburame's usually had everything she needed. Unfortunately, with the potential war looking over Konoha's heads, merchandise from other countries was getting more expensive and harder to obtain. Shibi had assured her that if the Uchiha house didn't have it, then it was most likely that any other trading house wouldn't stock it. Of course, if the Uchiha's had the item, it would be more expensive…

At least she could get the guild to pay for the expenses. It _was_ all in the name of research after all.

As she neared the Uchiha trading house, her thoughts shifted to the head of the household. Word on the street said that there was only one Uchiha left, and he was the head of the trading house. Apparently, he was around her age since the rest of the family had been involved in a massacre, and to which nobody knew the culprit or the reason.

When she reached the building, she was slightly amazed at how much grander it looked compared to the Aburame house. The Uchiha house was certainly prospering rather well. She entered the establishment and breathed a sigh of relief at the cooler air indoors. She never liked hot weather, and wished that it would go back to being winter already; at least the clover robes were airy.

A small red-headed female with a pair of black glasses looked over when the door chimed, halting in stocking the shelves in the front window. "May I help you?"

Hinata inclined her head in greeting. "Would you happen to have _aryin_ in stock?"

"We have some, though you'll have to talk to Sasuke-sama about that. He's currently not in. Would you like to make an appointment?"

"That would be for the best. At his earliest convenience as my timetable is fairly flexible."

The ruby-eyed female walked over to the front counter and reached behind, pulling out a dark brown, leather-bound book. She flipped it open and scanned the pages. "How about on Thursday at ten?"

Two days… well, it was better than anything she had so far. She had nothing planned, and she hoped that there wouldn't be any impromptu meetings. "Very well, I'll see him then."

"May I have your name?"

"Hyuuga Hinata."

The red-head penned in the appointment. "Alright, is there anything else you need?"

Hinata shook her head. "That was all, thank you."

"We hope to see you again."

The bluenette exited the establishment. She had 2 days to relax as she had already finished all the work she could have up until now. Well, since she had the extra time, she figured she'd go visit The Jinchuuriki, which was the most popular tavern in all of Konoha and arguably the most popular in all of Fire country.

She slowly walked the streets, back towards the centre of town. The tavern was located in the heart of the place, and boasted the best roast chicken for miles around. It was a quaint, homely place. It was also where one of her best friends worked.

As usual, the pub was crawling with life. Since it was a hotspot in the town, she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. The place was owned by the Yamanaka family, and they welcomed her with open arms. It was a perk of befriending the owner's daughter in their adolescence.

Within minutes of entering the establishment, aforementioned blond bounced over while yelling, "Hinata-chan!"

She'd missed seeing her exuberant childhood friend. "Ino-chan, it's been a while."

"Well, of course! You're always so busy in that stuffy mini-castle. Seriously, the Ace needs to give you guys a heck of a lot more break time. I only ever get to see you, what, like twice a month now?" Ino ushered her over to one of the tall chairs that was off to the side and next to the counter, her usual place. "I've missed you tonnes. How's your work going?"

Hinata seated herself comfortably on the high chair and rested her arms on the wooden surface of the counter, her body tilted slightly so she could converse with her friend. "I've missed you too, Ino-chan. My work is at a standstill for the moment. I need more _aryin_, and Aburame-sama can't get a hold of any in the near future. So, I made an appointment with the head of the Uchiha house in two days. By the way, I should reinforce yours."

"You're going to see _Uchiha-sama_?!" Ino squealed, causing the surrounding people to look over in their direction. "Oh my god, Hinata-chan, he's so handsome!" she gushed out, swooning on the bluenette in the process and causing Hinata to catch her hurriedly.

The younger female sweatdropped as she gently pushing the blond back on her feet. "I wouldn't know. I've never seen him before. Besides, I don't think that his appearance should matter that much."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Just wait until you see him. He's _perfect_. He's dropped by here a few times. And to think, he's our age."

"How have you been, Ino-chan?" she asked in an effort to divert her friend's conversation topic to something less awkward.

The blond shot her an _'I-know-what-you're-doing-but-I'll-let-it-slide'_ look before replying. "I've been great. Business is good, and I've met plenty of men that tip really well. Oh, there is so much talk about the strained relationship between Fire and Rice." She winked at Hinata. "When the Hearts come here to get drunk, they tend to let information slip. I thought you might be interested since it may affect the Clovers."

Oh dear. What had Kiba been keeping from her? "Go on…?"

Ino sat beside her. "Well, you know how Jiraiya-sama frequents this place a lot? I managed to become his favourite waitress and so I serve him sake every time he's here." Her voice dropped to a low whisper. "I overheard him telling Baki-sama that Kougou-sama has already met with the Aces of all four factions, and that there is a strong possibility that the factions will have to work together. Apparently, Rice has allied itself with Lightning, and you know how massive Lightning is…"

Nagato-sama hadn't mentioned anything, but that was probably because things were still tentative. This wasn't good. If what the Ace of Hearts had said was true (and she didn't doubt that he or Ino would lie), then things were getting bad, fast. A war amongst the countries hadn't happened in the past 200 years, and she had a feeling that the battle tactics of the army were unpolished. As the army had only dealt with minor skirmishes along the border and scattered bandit attacks, their fighting capability left a lot to be desired. Even if the Ace of Hearts upped the training, would it be enough against the combined force of Lightning and Rice who were known to focus more on military power rather than trade and self-defence?

"With Lightning and Fire on opposing sides, no other country will want to take sides. Which means… that we may end up having to fight," Hinata said, her brows furrowed. _I definitely need more combat practice_. "Though I wonder how the Spades and Diamonds are taking this."

Ino shrugged. "Probably not too well, but they should know that war changes their business drastically. No doubt they'd be really handy to have on your side during a war. They're more likely to work together anyway, just like the Clovers and the Hearts will probably end up working together."

"Ino, what are you doing? I need you at table five, seven, and twenty-four!" Inoichi's voice boomed over the murmured conversation in the tavern.

Blue eyes widened in shock as the blond bolted out of the stool. "Oh crap! Sorry, Hinata-chan, I gotta go. Work calls."

She waved her friend off. "It's fine. I'll let you know if I hear any news."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. Try and drop by more often!"

"Will do," Hinata replied as her friend ran off to take the orders of other people. She'd have to fix up Ino's _aryin_ at another time. With a final glance around the place, she hopped off the stool and exited. She'd head back and resume practicing because she had a sinking feeling that she'd need it.

* * *

><p>It had only been 2 morning practice sessions with her cousin and she already felt utterly exhausted and horribly out of shape. Yesterday, her cousin had managed to take her down within a matter of minutes without even breaking a sweat. And now here she was, sitting on a bench and downing water while Neji was leaning against the wall to her right (and she was almost 100% sure that it took no effort for him to beat her). It had been a long time since she'd last had a training session that intense. When she practiced by herself, it was more of a means to keep herself in good physical shape rather than fending off an opponent. After her father had given up on her training, she had focussed all her efforts into healing. Now, she regretted not practicing the Hyuuga style of fighting.<p>

"Are you sure you don't mind helping me out, Neji-nii-san?" she asked, feeling guilty for possibly wasting his time.

"I don't mind, Hinata-sama. Helping you learn to defend yourself better is not a waste of my time."

She smiled ruefully. "You should probably start dropping the honorific. We both know that Hanabi-chan will be the next head, not me." She flicked her wrist and a draught of cooling air flowed over her body, cleansing it of sweat.

Neji sat down next to her. "You will always be Hinata-sama to me, regardless of what happens." He idly played with lightning in his hand. "Do you want to take a break tomorrow or continue?"

The bluenette sighed. "I need to continue; I need to get back into shape. I have to be able to defend myself and at least help protect you guys. Have you heard anything new?"

He shook his head. "Nothing new. I have a feeling that the sort of information you got from Yamanaka is only privy to the Ace. I don't think Nagato-sama would wish to give uncertain information to our ranks. Hiashi-sama hasn't said anything either."

If her father hadn't told Neji anything, then he didn't know much past the rumors that circulated the Clover faction. "I spoke to Sakura-chan yesterday. She mentioned that there has been a large decrease in the number of ships coming to our harbours. Traders don't want to bring their goods by sea where it is easy to lose them to potential Lightning and Rice attacks. So, any traders that do want business with us are more likely to come by land, which explains why there is so little _aryin_ making its way to Konoha." _Aryin_ came from Water country, which was a large island in the middle of the ocean. The only way to get the stone was to ship it. Very few traders would ship it to another country and bring it by carriage into Fire country as Fire country had a large coastline.

"That's not good. One of the Jacks told me that the Queen had asked them to buy as much _aryin_ as possible. That would explain why she asked such. Unfortunately, the price for _aryin_ is up to four golds apiece…"

"_Quadrupled?!_" she asked, shocked. "I did ask Mizrahi-sama if she had any _aryin_ in the stock houses that she could spare and she told me I was better off purchasing some from a trading house... But with prices like that… You don't think that we're dangerously low, do you?"

"It would make sense," Neji commented. "Mizrhai-sama didn't let me take any _aryin_ either. Any that the Clovers purchase now will be expensive, but it's a necessary expenditure. At least you can justify the price to the faction if you manage to get any from the Uchiha trading house. Speaking of which, shouldn't you get going now?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall and winced. She'd have to hurry through the streets if she was to make it on time. "Yes, I should go. Thank you for the spar, nii-san." She stood up and bowed slightly to him.

"See you tomorrow morning, HInata-sama."

She nodded and left the room, heading through the winding halls of the Clover faction. Upon taking a step outside, she immediately cast the spell for cooling wind to combat the heat outside. Too bad there wasn't any sort of 'teleportation' magic or something similar; it would make things so much easier, and she'd never have to step outside during summer.

Hinata made her way past the various vendors and the citizens that were walking the streets. Her periwinkle robes were like an invisible shield, making sure the area round her was always clear.

Okay, so maybe this was one of the perks of being a mage.

She thankfully arrived a few minutes early, and greeted the red-head at the desk politely.

"It'll be a few minutes wait. Sasuke-sama is finishing up a prior meeting."

Hinata nodded and spent the next few minutes taking a good look around the venue. She hadn't taken the time to take a proper look at the place upon her last visit. She noted the expensive looking silk scarves from Earth country in the windowsill alongside the fabrics and perfumes. On the walls of the building hung paintings and tapestries that reminded her much of the halls of the Clover, depicting influential people of Fire country through the ages, not to mention the one portrait of Kougou-sama in all her glory. From the products they sold and the finish of the whole place, the _aryin_, should they manage to have any, would be fairly pricey.

"Hyuuga-sama, Sasuke-sama is ready to see you. If you would head this way…"

She glanced at the door, only to see a middle-aged male exiting the establishment. Probably the prior customer. She nodded at the attendant and made her way down the hall that the ruby-eyed female pointed her in.

When she entered the room, the first thing she noticed was a pair of obsidian orbs appraising her with mild interest. Her eyes drifted to the rest of him and sure, he was good-looking, but she didn't see what the fuss was about, and she was kind of expecting more with the amount of chatter Sakura and Ino had done whenever his name was mentioned.

"Hyuuga-sama?" His voice was a smooth baritone and his voice was laced with idle curiosity. "What can I do for you?"

"Uchiha-sama," she replied quietly. She was pretty sure he'd been told by his secretary about what she wanted, but she'd humour him nevertheless. "Do you have any _aryin_ in stock?"

"We only have around seven, but have another two dozen or so coming in within the next few days."

Relief flooded her for a brief moment. Finally, she could get a hold of some of the mineral. But, she knew it was going to be costly. "So, how much will you charge for all seven pieces?"

He eyed her for a moment, his gaze calculating. "For you, fourteen golds for the lot."

Hinata masked her surprise. She watched him warily, trying to see if there was a hidden agenda behind the surprisingly low offer.

"What do you say, _Hyuuga-sama_?"

If she hadn't been paying careful attention to him, she would have missed the slight emphasis on her name, _Hyuuga_. Well, it wouldn't be detrimental if she owed the Uchiha a favour for the price as it could lead to future business deals. Why not? "That sounds reasonable, _Uchiha-sama_. I will inform the guild of price of purchase and will return tomorrow with an answer. What time would be suitable for you?"

"I'll be in all day tomorrow, so feel free to drop in at any time before nightfall."

_How convenient_. "I'll come by sometime in the morning then." She inclined her head slightly. "Good day, Uchiha-sama."

"See you tomorrow then, Hyuuga-sama."

She exited the room, sensing his gaze on her. Uncomfortable, she hurriedly closed the door behind her and briskly walked down the corridor and out of the building. He wanted something from her. The look in his eyes and the subtle implication of her family name was obvious enough.

The question now was, what did he want?

* * *

><p>Sparring with her cousin in the morning was exhausting, and she wondered when she'd stop feeling so badly out of shape. The good news was that Neji was going to be promoted to the rank of Jack. While she was proud of him, she couldn't help but worry. The tenseness in her cousin's jaw was a give-away, and she could not help but come to the conclusion that his promotion was in anticipation of the eventual conflict between Fire and Rice. That was not a thought she wanted to entertain for any given period of time.<p>

At least the faction agreed to purchase the _aryin_ from the Uchiha house, so that was a small relief. She quickly recounted all the coins inside the pouch with her magic before entering the trading house. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the difference in lighting. When she finally did, she was surprised to see Sasuke himself waiting at the front.

"I figured you'd come in at the same time," he commented. "This way."

Hinata followed him to the same room she first met him, which she presumed was his office. When she entered, she noticed the 7 blue stones laid out on a small beige drawstring bag on top of the cherry wood desk. "Uchiha-sama, I have a question. I talked to Mizrahi-sama the other day and she said that you told her each _aryin_ would be five golds. What is it that you want from me?"

He was silent for a moment, watching her carefully. The raven-haired male then opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a small drawstring bag and shoved it to the edge of the table, closer to her. "I've heard that you are the best scryer out of all the Hyuuga in the Clover faction. I need you to figure out who this belongs to. If you agree, all _aryin_ I sell to you will be two golds apiece."

She frowned and flicked her hand, causing the small bag to fly over to her outstretched hand. Using her magic, she opened the bag and floated out the item inside. She eyed the faded, black cloth in confusion. She scanned it for magical residue and found nothing threatening. After inspecting it for a couple of minutes, she said, "So, you want me to find the owner of this, and you couldn't find another mage to do this? You know, Mizrahi-sama is one of the best scryers in Clover."

"I know that, but she is a Queen, and I don't want to deal with the hassle of involving someone of that rank. Besides, you are a Hyuuga, and all Hyuuga are known to be exceptional mages. And I can trust you won't ask too many questions."

Well, it wasn't really any of her business on why he wanted to find the owner. If she didn't know anything and something happened, it wouldn't be incriminating against her. Besides, for 2 gold per _aryin_… it was a tempting offer, especially since the economy was down and money was tight. "I can make no promises that I will locate the owner. The piece is rather old, so it will take a long while," she warned.

"That's better than anything I can do. So, you'll do it?"

She walked forward, emptying out the pouch of the 14 golds, and putting the 7 _aryin_ inside. "I'll do it, Uchiha-sama."


End file.
